Spring type ball projecting device

ABSTRACT

A projecting device for a baseball comprising a strike lever rotatably movable by the recoil of the torsion spring. A ball support or receptacle provided with an opening to seat the ball aligned with the path of a strike member mounted adjacent the distal end of the strike lever. The ball is struck through the opening to aerially propel the ball for batting practice. A manually operable cocking device engages the strike lever to pivotally move the lever to a retractable catch against the bias of the torsion spring and is retained thereby in cocked position until the catch is retracted by a trigger device to release the strike lever. A remote trigger is connected to the lever locking device or retractable catch so that by actuation thereof the catch will pivot and permit the strike lever to strike a ball.

United States Patent [1 1 McGill [4 1 Oct. 15, 1974 SPRING TYPE BALL PROJECTING DEVICE [.76] Inventor: Walter N. McGill, 5027 Maryland St., Gary, lnd. 46409 221 Filed: May 17,1973

21 Appl. No: 361,017

Primary Examiner-George .1. Mario liti an .lietemiz rlltfilliamlli Brew? Att0rney, Agent, or Firm-Walter Leuca I [57] ABSTRACT A projecting device for a baseball comprising a strike lever rotatably movable by the recoil of the torsion spring. A ball support or receptacle provided with an opening to seat the ball aligned with the path of a strike member mounted adjacent the distal end of the strike lever. The ball is struck through the opening to aerially propel the ball for batting practice. A manually operable cocking device engages the strike lever to pivotally move the lever to a retractable catch against the bias of the torsion spring and is retained thereby in cocked position until the catch is retracted by a trigger device to release the strike lever. A remote trigger is connected to the lever locking device orretractable catch so that by actuation thereof the catch will pivot and permit the strike lever to strike a ball.

3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SPRING TYPE BALL PROJECTING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to aerial projecting devices and more particularly to devices utilizing spring forces for aerially propelling a projectile.

2. Description of the Prior Art The problem that this invention is mainly directed to is that in prior art spring actuated devices, an insufficient propelling force is imparted to the projectile element unless a strong spring is provided in which event the manual cocking operation is difficult and a more massive supporting structure is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, I have invented a ball projecting device which is compact and simple to construct and to operate and which provides a forceful strike to air-borne a projectile, such as a baseball for use in batting practice which is the principal use contemplated by the preferred embodiment of this invention. It is recognized, however, that such a device may have other applications. The additional advantage of the preferred structure of my invention is the ease with which a reduced manual force is needed to cock the strike member. 1 accomplish the above objectives by providing a strike lever which is rotatably movable by the recoil of the torsion spring. A ball support or receptacle is provided with an opening to seat the ball and which is aligned in the path of a strike member provided adjacent the distal end of the strike lever and serves to strike the ball with sufficient force to aerially propel the ball. A manually operable cocking device engages the strike lever to pivotally move the lever to a retractable catch against the bias of the torsion spring and to be retained thereby in this cocked position until the catch is retracted to release the strike lever.

Other objects and advantages will more readily become apparent upon a further study of the following specification when taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated a preferred embodiment of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the projecting device of my invention showing a front, side and top view in perspective;

FIG. 2 is a plan elevation thereof with the trigger extension support removed;

FIG. 3 is a frontal elevation vertically sectioned along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail drawing of the cocking link mechanism viewed along lines 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a detail drawing of the spring members, strike lever and cocking bar assembly;

FIG. 6 is a detail drawing of the anchor means for the spring members;

FIG. 7 is a detail of the fastening means in section for the spring engagement to the strike lever; and

FIG. 8 is a pictorial view showing the details of the trigger linkage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1 for the present, the ball projecting device of my invention is designated generally by the numeral 10. It comprises in the main, a base 12 and a housing 14 secured to base 12 which serves to provide a supporting structure for the kinetic members of this device. Accessible from the exterior of housing 14 are ball support or receptacle l6, cocking rod 18 and trigger 20 supported on extension beam 22 which positions trigger 20 spaced from housing 14.

With particular reference to FIGS. 5 through 7, 1 provide shaft 24 horizontally positioned and secured to sides 26 and 28 of housing 14 by any convenient means such as threaded shaft ends and nut assemblies 30. Supported on shaft 24 for rotating movement therearound is strike lever or arm 32. Also supported on shaft 24 are coil springs 34 and bell crank lever 36 positioned against strike lever 32 by spacer sleeve 38. One end 40 of each coil spring 34 is connected to strike lever 32 by insertion in nut 42 in a groove provided therefor, and tightened against strike lever 32 by means of screw 44. The other or anchor end 46 of each of coil springs 34 is similarly anchored by nut 48 threadedly tightened against head 50 of curved pintle 52 which is concentrically held in place by set screw assembly 54. Set screw assembly 54 is connected to the end of tension rod 56 which is supported at the other end thereof on end wall 58 of housing 14 and fixed in axial position thereon by lock nuts 60. The shaft of rods 56 are threaded so that they may be axially advanced or retracted through holes provided in housing wall 58 to increase or decrease the torsion bias of coil springs 34 to increase or decrease the magnitude of the swing force of lever 32. As more clearly illustrated in FIG. 3, the distal end 62 of lever 32 is provided with an impact boss 64 preferably formed from a shock absorbing material such as hard rubber. Boss 64 is slightly spaced from the distal end 62 of lever 32 so that the distal end thereof may be used as a ledge against which stop 66, fixed on wall 68 of housing 14, is provided to terminate the rotating swing of lever 32 at the ball impact end of its motion. It further serves to engage the retractable catch or lock 70 of trigger device 72 when cocked. It should be further observed that boss 64 and opening 74 in projectile receptacle 16 are axially aligned so that the strike end of boss 64 enters therethrough to strike the ball 76 at the center thereof.

As more clearly shown in FIG. 8, trigger device 72 comprises a retractable catch 70 pivotally pinned to bracket 71 which is mounted on housing 14. Arm 80 of catch 70 rests in tapered recess or notch 82 formed in the edge of release lever 84 which is pivotally connected at the end thereof to crank link pair 86. Link pair 86 pivotally journals on connecting pin 88 which is supported by base bracket 78. Link pair 86 is spring biased at pivot pin 90 to urge release lever 84 rearward so that arm 80 of catch 70 is seated in the depth of tapered recess 82 of lever 84. The distal end of release lever 84 is formed with a hook 92 and extends exterior of housing 14 through an opening provided therefor. I provide an extension beam 22 fixed at one end to base 12 and I mount thereon at the other end thereof, a bracket 94 to pivotally support trigger 20. l-Iook 92 of release lever 84 is connected by means of a link such as chain 96 to trigger 20 at the other end of extension beam 22. In effect, trigger 20 is an extension of release lever 84. Its location remote from housing 14 allows the player to actuate the device of my invention at the proper stance for swinging a bat.

For the cocking mechanism, 1 provide a sleeve 98 positioned upright and connected to housing 14. The infacing side of sleeve 98 is slotted as at 100. Cocking rod 18 reciprocally moves in sleeve 98. Wrist pin 102 is provided on rod 18 and extends through slot 100 of sleeve 98 and pivotally moves bell crank member 104 by means of link 106. Bell crank member 104 is pivotally connected at 108 to housing 14 around which bell crank member 104 pivots. End 110 of bell crank 104 is provided with a horizontally extending pin 1 12 which buttingly engages strike lever 32. The top of rod 18 is provided with a plate against which the user of this device may manually depress rod 18 to pivot bell crank 104. Spring means 114 is provided in sleeve 98 below rod 18 so that depressed rod 18 acts against the bias of spring 1 l4 and is thereby returned to its raised position when the depressing force is removed.

In the operation of my invention which as illustrated is particularly suitable for batting practice, the operator depresses either manually or by foot, rod 18 which acts to rotate bell crank 104 which being in abutting engagement with strike lever 32 pivots lever 32 against the torsion bias of springs 34 to its cocked position and retained in such position by retractable catch 70. A baseball 76 is placed in receptacle l6 and when ready to strike the ball with the bat, the operator depresses trigger 20 with his foot while he stands in readiness with the bat to strike the ball. Trigger 20 acting through chain 96 connected to hook 92 of release lever 84 will cause the raising of arm 80 as it rides against the inclined edge of recess 82 pivoting arm 80 to retract catch 70 from the distal end 62 of strike lever 32. Lever 32 being under the torsion bias of springs 34 will be caused thereby to rotate around horizontal shaft 24, a substantial angular distance and upon strike end of boss 64 entering opening 74 of receptacle 16, it will strike baseball 76 with sufficient force to project the ball upwardly so that the ball may be struck in mid air by the batter. Lever 32 is stopped by abutting against stop 66 provided in wall 68 of housing 14. By providing a strike boss 64 made from hard rubber, I also utilize the resiliency of the material to absorb the shock and at the same time to provide an added impetus to the ball by the action of the recoil. By utilizing torsion springs 34 to cause pivotal rotation of strike lever 32. l acquire a maximum distance of strike travel within a minimum space and the momentum acquired is thereby increased. By adjusting rods 56 to increase or decrease the torsion bias of springs 34, I can adjust the strike force of lever 32 to any specification.

1 claim:

1. A ball projecting device comprising:

means for supporting a ball:

a lever means pivotally supported on said device for projecting a ball, said lever means having an arm which moves about an axis to engage a ball, and said lever means having a shaft for supporting the lever means during pivotal movement thereof, said lever means further comprising a torsion spring means for biasing the arm into engagement with a supported ball, said spring means having one end thereof being non-rotatably connected to the device and the other end being connected to the arm, the intermediate portion of the spring means being coiled about the shaft;

a rod means for moving said arm to a cocked position under pressure applied by a user, said rod means comprising a link means adapted to move in response to the downward thrust of the rod means to cause the arm to move to a cocked position against the bias of the spring means;

means for locking the arm in a cocked position;

means for releasing the locking means to permit the arm to pivot under the bias of the spring means.

2. The ball projecting device of claim 1 wherein said means for releasing said locking means further includes a beam laterally extending from said locking means, a manually operated trigger mounted on the beam adjacent the distal end of said beam, and a link means connecting said trigger and said locking means, said link means being adapted to permit manual movement thereof to release said releasing means upon actuation of said trigger.

3. The ball projecting device of claim 1 wherein said stationary or non-rotatable end of said spring means is fixed to a movable member, means on said movable member including a means to adjustably position said stationary end to control the tension of said spring means. 

1. A ball projecting device comprising: means for supporting a ball: a lever means pivotally supported on said device for projecting a ball, said lever means having an arm which moves about an axis to engage a ball, and said lever means having a shaft for supporting the lever means during pivotal movement thereof, said lever means further comprising a torsion spring means for biasing the arm into engagement with a supported ball, said spring means having one end thereof being non-rotatably connected to the device and the other end being connected to the arm, the intermediate portion of the spring means being coiled about the shaft; a rod means for moving said arm to a cocked position under pressure applied by a user, said rod means comprising a link means adapted to move in response to the downward thrust of the rod means to cause the arm to move to a cocked position against the bias of the spring means; means for locking the arm in a cocked position; means for releasing the locking means to permit the arm to pivot under the bias of the spring means.
 2. The ball projecting device of claim 1 wherein said means for releasing said locking means further includes a beam laterally extending from said locking means, a manually operated trigger mounted on the beam adjacent the distal end of said beam, and a link means connecting said trigger and said locking means, said link means being adapted To permit manual movement thereof to release said releasing means upon actuation of said trigger.
 3. The ball projecting device of claim 1 wherein said stationary or non-rotatable end of said spring means is fixed to a movable member, means on said movable member including a means to adjustably position said stationary end to control the tension of said spring means. 